Chapter 7
Willow and Tara teleported home after breakfast to re-pack for England. After recharging their energies, they would be teleporting to the Coven.
Buffy insisted that the rest continue to stay at the cabin, as planned. She wasn't going to allow anything to get in the way of the only vacation she'd had in forever, and would probably have for a long time. Sebastian finally pulled her aside when her over-zealous efforts to have fun were grating on everyone's nerves.
"Darling, let's go outside and play in the snow, hmm? There's lots of nice, fresh powder for a snowball fight. Maybe burn off a bit of this excess energy?"
"Can we go sledding, too?"
"Of course. Anything you like."
Once Buffy ran off to change into her snowsuit, Joyce thanked him for taking her out.
"She's worried, but doesn't want to admit it. I'll get her to talk eventually, Joyce. I always do."
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"Any clue what the new hubbub is about?" Xander asked.
"It could be anything. Without any clues from Althanea, I can't make any conjectures. Could be an attack on the Coven. Or, they sensed a disturbance on this plane. Or, some kind of localized demonic event. She obviously thinks it is quite serious, to request Willow and Tara come right away," Giles suggested.
"I could summon Yavanna. She might know something from the PTBs," Kara proposed.
"I think it's a bit premature for that. We should wait for Willow or Tara to call after they've been briefed."
"Really? Because she also mentioned that you would have messages at home, Giles. That definitely suggests that this is bigger than the Coven. We do a good amount of business in England, so I'm really hoping it won't get blown up," Anya argued.
"Maybe you should check your messages, dear," Joyce suggested.
"The machine is at home. I can't very well press the button from here."
"You know you can check those things by phone, right?" Xander added.
"Harris, the Watcher is lucky he can operate a toaster. You really think he programmed the bloody message machine?"
"I beg your pardon-!"
"This is going to be a long day," Dawn muttered.
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"Ow! A little less Slayer strength with the snowballs, eh?"
"Sorry…I wasn't paying attention."
"I noticed. Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"
"Not really. I'd rather be denial-girl and have some fun."
"Buffy…"
"What? We're on vacation! The most stressful thing this week is supposed to be which Christmas carol to sing first, or what present to open. Free of supernatural angst! Every time I think I'm free, it sucks me back in."
"You don't know that you'll have to do anything," Sebastian said gently.
"Yes I do! 'Cause I'm the Slayer, and I always end up with these things. Wills and Tara were already needed, and people are looking for Giles. Why else, if not for my help, too?" She slumped onto a rock. "I don't want to do this now. I thought…we usually get past New Year's Eve…"
He pulled her up into his embrace. "I know, sweetheart, and if I could take away all the burdens, I would. I think the best course right now is not to read too much into this until we know more, alright? And if you're needed, too, then I'll be right by your side. You never have to fight a battle alone again, dove. I've promised you that."
"I know…and I love having you as a partner. Thank you. Can we get back to having some snowy fun?"
"As much as you want."
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Willow and Tara each packed a bag, keeping some contingencies in mind, then hopped "over the pond". The 8-hour time difference from home meant it was mid-evening in Devon when they arrived at the Coven. They were greeted with grateful hugs, their bags sent to a room and the girls ushered to Althanea's study.
"Thank you both for coming."
"Althanea, what's going on? You look worried," Willow said.
"We are. Please, have a seat. I asked you to come right away because we will need your strength to fortify our protection spells. There have been several attacks on covens in the past week, all around the world."
"And you think they'll attack here?" Tara asked.
"Was anything taken?" Willow also wondered.
"We don't know. That is why we are taking precautions. Watcher Council Headquarters was also attacked, though I don't know anything further. Our link there was severed, and I don't want to spare anyone to head to London until the protection spell is completed."
"Well, we'll do our best to help."
"Thank you, girls. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. I suggest you get something to eat, then rest for tomorrow. The spell will need all of us to concentrate fully."
They bid Althanea goodnight, and went in search of their room. After supper, it would be time to place a call back to the States, as they had promised.
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When Buffy heard her phone ringing, she leapt off the couch to run upstairs, digging it out of her purse after only two rings.
"Hello?"
"Hey, you sound out of breath?"
"Hi, Will…I just ran up the stairs, that's all. So? What's the deal?"
"We don't know much, unfortunately. Althanea says that other covens have been attacked, so she called us to add our strength to a protection spell here. We're doing it first thing tomorrow."
"Right…the time difference…Is there any reason behind these attacks?"
"She doesn't know. We don't even know how many casualties there have been. Oh, and Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"The Watchers' Council was attacked, too. Althanea hasn't been able to re-establish contact, yet, and we can't spare anyone to go check it out until after the spell is done. I thought Giles would want to know."
"Thanks, Wills. You and Tara be careful, okay?"
"Bye, Buffy. We will." The line clicked, indicating Willow had hung up, and Buffy put her phone away. She walked back downstairs to share the news.
"Was that Willow?" Giles asked.
"Yeah…the coven is doing a big protection spell tomorrow. Apparently, someone has it out for witch covens, or something…there have been a lot of attacks."
"But there's more bad news…" Kara prompted.
"They can't reach the Council. Something happened there, too…"
"Dear Lord…when?"
"That's all Wills could tell me, Giles. The coven's not investigating until after the spell is done."
"Guess that's why she mentioned you would have messages at home, G-man," Xander added.
"Don't call me that –" Giles automatically responded. "Dear…"
"I know…we need to head home right away. Well, it was fun while it lasted. At least we got through Christmas," Joyce replied.
"Do we have to go?" Dawn complained.
"We're leaving tomorrow, anyway," Buffy added. "What's one more night?"
"Buffy…"
"What? We don't work for the Council anymore, right? So, they're having a problem in England. It's not on my Hellmouth," she stubbornly replied.
"Well, you don't have to leave, if Xander and Anya will take you in their car, instead," said Giles.
"We can do that. Just as easy as taking Will and Tara, before," Xander answered.
"Fair enough." Giles nodded to the group, and went to the bedroom to pack. Joyce went back to finishing lunch preparations.
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"Be good, girls. I don't want to hear that you've been bickering the whole day."
"Mom!" "We don't do that anymore!"
"Uh-huh…well, drive safely, everyone." One last round of hugs, then Joyce joined Giles in the SUV. They pulled out of the driveway and head towards the highway.
"Wow, Giles was driving over the speed limit. He must really be worried," Anya noticed.
"Makes sense…he has lots of friends in England, still," Kara added.
"20 bucks says they try to drag me into this," Buffy groused.
"That's a losers' bet, Buff. The Council is helpless without their Slayer. It's not like they can call Faith," Xander replied.
"Well, they could spring her free, but it wouldn't be very cost efficient," Anya said, following them back in the house.
"Who's Faith?" Sebastian wondered.
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"Would you like me to come to the apartment with you?"
"It's not necessary…I'm sure you have plenty to do after a week away from home…"
"Okay, let me re-phrase…would you like me to be supportive while you make some difficult phone calls?"
"Your presence is always appreciated, dear…I just didn't think you'd be interested in this, er, subject…"
"Rupert, it's not a burden. I can put off checking the mail for a few hours while you find out what happened. Now, un-lock the door and let's find out about your friends."
Giles gave her a grateful kiss, then pulled out his keys and opened the door to his flat. Indeed, the red light on the answering machine was blinking. He picked up the pen and notepad from the desk and pressed 'play'.
"'Rupert…are you there? Blast…you're probably on holiday. This is Reggie. Call me back as soon as you get this message. Something has happened at Council Headquarters…something terrible.' End of first message." The second queued up and started to play. "'Rupert…it's Reginald again. It's been a few days since my last message…Call me as soon as you get in. There are some things you need to know. Talk to you soon, I hope.' End of second message." "'Rupert, I'm coming L.A. International Friday evening, 8 p.m. your time. We have much to discuss. If your not there, then I'll catch the train up to Sunnydale. See you soon.' End of third message."
"Well, I guess it's good we didn't wait until later in the afternoon to drive down," Joyce remarked.
"It's just after four…and it will probably take me two hours to get to the airport…"
"Then, that doesn't leave us much time to make up your guest room. He sounded pretty calm after the first message. I'm sure things aren't as dire as you might be imagining."
"I wish I shared you optimism, dear, but Reggie is not an excitable fellow. If he said that something terrible happened, then it most likely did. Damnit, he didn't leave the flight number. I'm going to have to hope he has his mobile with him…"
"Here…sit, have a drink. I'm going to make sure the bed has fresh sheets." Giles stopped her from walking off by grabbing her hand.
"Thank you, Joyce." The emotion in his voice told her it was about more than just the sheets.
She caressed his face. "You're welcome. After I'm done, we'll pick up some groceries."
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"Red and Glinda will be alright," Spike stated, coming out onto the deck, where Kara was sitting.
"I know."
"Then what's got you so worried? And don't say you're not, because I can feel it."
"You haven't felt it this week?"
"Felt what, sweets?"
"The change on the wind…the mystical vibes…the earth giving a big, fat warning. It was just a niggling speck at the back of my mind, but after Althanea showed up, I couldn't ignore it anymore. There's a force out there aiming to shift the balance." She turned back to look at him. "Promise me you'll take the girls to Ossiriand if things look bad."
"I can't even open-"
"I can give you the charm, that's not a problem."
"I won't leave you to face a battle alone, Kara. You can't bloody ask me that."
"Please, Spike…I couldn't bear to lose any of you…and like it, or not, you're not invincible. If the warning I'm feeling is correct, we aren't just talking a localized apocalypse – it's a shift for the whole dimension. You don't have the power to stop something like that."
"And you do."
"Yes. And most importantly, I can't die. Look, I want to be wrong…and I want this to be something easily nipped in the bud, but we have to be prepared."
"I'll make sure the girls are safe, but I'm not leaving you. You've pushed me out of too many fights, and I won't stand around and wait while you run off to another one. You're my mate, and the decision's final."
Kara could see by his expression, and feel through the claim, that he was dead serious. She lowered her eyes meekly, and nodded. He had the power to demand she not disobey his decision, as the male half of the claim, and while that wouldn't stop her completely from exercising her free will, it would make it extremely difficult to do so – possibly even painful.
Spike purred with approval and pulled her close. He gently slid his fangs into her scar, laving the blood that pooled up from the punctures. Kara's knees went weak as the pleasure always associated with his bite coursed through her. He held her up as she gasped from the mini-orgasm it triggered, then removed his teeth just as gently and laved the holes closed. She shivered with every pass of his roughened tongue.
"Think it's been a bit too long since I tied you up, luv," he whispered hotly in her ear. "You're all mine tonight."
"The girls…" she whimpered.
"Can sleep in the next room." He nipped the mark on her throat. "No arguments."
Spike pulled away, grinning mischievously, and went back inside the house. Kara was left feeling hot enough to burn, even though it was only 40 degrees outside. She could feel that her cheeks were insanely flushed – there was no way she could go back inside and face the others yet. Her eyes scanned the yard for a deep patch of snow, and she ran for it, diving into the drift. She knew that Spike wouldn't be making good on his promise until the others were ready for bed that night…bastard. It was going to be a long day.